Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-13

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The first table below shows changes in the total population of New York City from 1800 to 2000. The second and third tables show changes in the population of the five districts of the city (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) over the same period.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 5.0)

The tables illustrate how proportion of total population of New York City has changed, as well as district-wise population changes of the five districts(Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island), from 1800 to 2000.

Overall, the population has sharply surged in New York City during the given period.

Manhattan has experienced a significant decline in the percentages. In contrast, other districts have considerably increased over the given period.

In 1800, total population of New York City was 79,216, where Manhattan constituted 76%, and other distrcts as 24%. A year later, in 1900,the population of the city has jumped to 3,[redacted phone] people, with Manhattan's population was moderately declined, by 54%.Moreover other cities has grown in population by 46%, during the same year.

Finally, in 2000, the city's overall number was drastically increased to 8,009,185.

In the same year, Manhattan's population was dropped to 19%, while other citie

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response attempts to summarise the main features of the population tables for New York City and its districts from 1800 to 2000. However, the text is incomplete, cutting off abruptly mid-sentence at the end of the second body paragraph. Furthermore, the mandatory word count minimum of 150 words is not met, as the response contains only 145 words. While the writer identifies some key trends, such as the overall population surge and Manhattan's declining proportional share, data interpretation is flawed in places (e.g., confusing population totals with percentages or temporal data). Because the task is incomplete and under-length, it falls into the Band 5 category for failing to fully address all parts of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay attempts a standard four-paragraph structure with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. However, because the text cuts off prematurely, the organisational structure remains unfinished. Cohesive devices are used simply (e.g., 'Overall', 'In contrast', 'Finally'), but referencing and linking within paragraphs are occasionally mechanical or unclear (e.g., confusing 'districts' with 'cities'). Paragraphing is initiated but disrupted by the sudden end of the response. This performance aligns best with Band 5 due to the lack of clear overall progression resulting from the truncation and basic cohesive management.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is generally basic and repetitive, with several awkward or incorrect word choices. For instance, the writer uses 'proportion of total population' and phrases like 'the population has sharply surged' or 'population was moderately declined'. There are also incorrect collocations and terminology issues, such as referring to districts as 'other cities'. Although the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey basic trends, noticeable lexical inaccuracies prevent the score from reaching Band 6. The range is limited, and spelling/word-choice errors restrict the score to Band 5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The text displays a mix of simple and emerging complex sentence structures, but it is marred by frequent grammatical errors. Examples include 'how proportion of total population', 'total population of New York City was 79,216, where Manhattan constituted 76%, and other distrcts as 24%', and tense errors such as 'the population of the city has jumped' mixed with past simple references. Additionally, punctuation and article omissions ('distrcts', 'A year later, in 1900,the population') are noticeable. Due to the frequency of structural errors and the incomplete nature of the writing, a Band 5 is appropriate.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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